Safety Professionals Need to Examine How They Manage OHS Incident Reports, According to American Society of Safety Engineers' Professional Safety Journal Article

DES PLAINES, Ill., Feb. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If a worker is injured slipping from a ladder while accessing an electrical panel, does this incident warrant more training on the employee's part on how to properly use a ladder or does it call into question larger organizational issues that should be addressed?

In an article in the February issue of Professional Safety titled, "Problem Solving, Are Higher-Order Controls Ignored?," authors Michael Behm and Demetria Powell reviewed 249 valid investigation reports from seven organizations. They found a majority of occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals and their companies focus solely on the incident without looking at factors like why a ladder is needed to reach a panel in the report.

"By not including it, an opportunity for organizational learning about possible future design and redesign changes has not been documented and, thus, is lost," the authors write.

The first three options are considered higher-order control solutions because they require more effort to improve a situation within a corporate culture. The authors discovered OHS professionals and their companies used administrative controls, known as lower-order controls, in 87 percent of the reviewed investigation reports, suggesting that they may be fixated on identifying single causes close to the work operations.

"All organizations should analyze what types of failures and subsequent solutions they are identifying," the authors write. "When investigators look beyond the immediate failures and into the system they will initiate true organizational learning and be impactful for risk reduction on both the micro and macro scales."

For more than 50 years, ASSE's Professional Safety journal has been sharing the latest technical knowledge in SH&E—information that is constantly being developed through research and on-the-job experience. Each issue delivers practical guidance, techniques and solutions to help SH&E professionals identify hazards, protect people, prevent injuries, improve work environments and educate management that investing in safety is a sound business strategy. For more information please visit http://www.asse.org/professionalsafety.

Founded in 1911, the Des Plaines-based ASSE is the oldest professional safety organization and is committed to protecting people, property and the environment. Its more than 35,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members lead, manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor, health care and education. For more information please go to www.asse.org.